Major General Martin Smith on Operation Atalanta, July,2015. Demotix/Jonathan Raa. All rights reserved.Can the migration across the Mediterranean really be considered a security threat? The European Council, the Council of Ministers and implicitly also the Parliament are dealing with the flight over the Mediterranean from a narrowly protectionist perspective.
The actions that were decided by the European Council on 23 April 2015 essentially reproduce the policies that have proved to create, rather than reduce, risky migration strategies for those in need of protection and others. At the top of the agenda is fighting human "trafficking" (it is noteworthy that the Council uses an erroneous legal term for a phenomenon that constitutes human smuggling).
The second issue on the agenda is the decision to increase presence on the Mediterranean with additional vessels, planes and personnel. To cooperate with countries of origin and transit is the third issue on the agenda, while a commitment to increase internal solidarity and responsibility is last on the action program.
